Retail Metrics Cost Optimization Specialists on average have saved 10% annual costs ongoing for many national businesses.
The devastating social and economic effects of Coronavirus on globalized trading societies has just begun to dawn on all of us. Over the last two decades our business focus was geared toward building and developing trading conditions that support cross border commercial links, developing trading synergies across commerce, education, and tourism. Coronavirus demonstrates how one interconnected country catching the flu virus can rapidly travel through a global network, spreading and infecting with devastating consequences.
This pandemic highlights the magnitude and interconnected nature of our global trading societies which have helped shape and influence cultural development in education, health, sport, commerce, culture and tourism. I consider myself to be a global citizen who indulges in travel and exploration of new cultures, food and geography yet today for the first time my personal movements are curtailed.
COVID-19 has equally exposed the fragility of our hyperconnected communities as we face into the brutal and significant impacts across every sector of society, trade, health and leisure. The real human and economic costs of this pandemic are still unknown but it is fair to say each government is bracing itself for more bad news and is now tracking data in a way unseen previously as we watch the media for signs of hope and a vaccine.
In April, the USA had 330,000 known cases, New York over 70,000 deaths and Western Europe facing major lockdowns to calm the spread of the virus, as testing capability has been poor across the globe. Health organizations suggest between 20% to 80% of the population may have been infected by COVID-19 (Oxford University, 2020). In truth this virus exposed several societal fragilities sitting quietly under the surface. Health care systems and infrastructure were tested and over run in each country and rising death rate inside care homes for the elderly exploded. Old questions are resurfacing as current issues around funding of medical care and cost of insurance cover are brought back to front and centre political debates.
Shareholder value in Travel and Leisure industries has been destroyed as businesses were shut down over night with airlines being grounded and crews sent home, sector wide unemployment soared. The stark impact on employment, businesses and economies has captured the attention of analysts and business writers alike, disturbing questions follow troubling forecasts and now real consequences are being seen. During times like this every business needs the support of experienced leaders who have managed through economic depressions and crisis. Retail Metrics Cost Optimization Specialists have such a group of C-Suite leaders who can help guide and support your business through uncharted waters.
How will society, governments and business leaders support employees, especially low-income groups and those unfortunate to find themselves unemployed. Systematic lockdowns and isolation have forced new norms, in March 2020 it was announced that 6.6Million Americans, one of the wealthiest countries in the world filed for unemployment benefits and 60% of Americans felt a loss of hours at work, resulting in lower benefits and pay. Business Leaders and their management teams need support through these unprecedented times. Retail Metrics are functional specialists in every aspect of business, and they can help maximise income and cost optimize across every area of your business.
These impacts demonstrate a serious of consequences that are far reaching and will touch every economy, business, leader, group of people and family, as worked hours continue to drop so will incomes, wages, cashflow, costs and create a need to revisit operating models at work and at home. During these tough times, the skill set of Retail Metrics Cost Optimization Specialists can help businesses realize maximum potential, support profitable EBITDA delivery, save jobs and shareholder value.
Household and business costs will be heavily influenced by lost trading hours, declining customer numbers due to forced lockdown periods and social distancing measures. Equally movements to online will hurt business economics where online capability is weak or underdeveloped. Protecting your family and workforce means ppe costs increase as will the costs of hygiene charges and self-protection chemical cleaning solutions. Retail Metrics Cost Optimization Specialists can help identify and influence costs efficiency programs that deliver credible, sustainable and visible results inside the profit statements at speed.
Business speed, agility and desire to take on new business workloads that require travelling has noticeably reduced, producing more symptoms of a declining business appetite and reduced financial position. A simple view of the high streets traffic in major cities in the evenings demonstrates a shocking lack of consumer movement, empty street pavements as customers retreat indoors. Businesses are suffering, high streets are closing early, and profit and loss accounts are facing significant disruption. Retail Metrics Cost Optimization Specialists can help businesses realize maximum potential, support profitable EBITDA delivery and increase shareholder value.
Retail is a great barometer of the economy and today we have many troubling warning signals (Red flags), shelf availability is weak in major supermarkets of basic needs which shouts erratic behaviour, supply chain issues and changing routines. Staff shortages, closed counters or gaps in shelves of the best products is met with a shrug of the shoulders and a simple” COVID-19” the perfect excuse. Retail Metrics Cost Optimization Specialists can help businesses realize maximum potential, support profitable EBITDA delivery and increase shareholder value.
Lost trading opportunities, income and lost wages from absenteeism is just one side effect of governments imposing isolation or individuals imposing their own periods of self-isolation. Travel, Restaurants, hotels, pubs, cinemas, gyms, spas, car showrooms, electronics and non-essential retail closing down has had significant impacts on business, employees, income, costs and profitability. Equally the knock-on effects of how this has impacted the suppliers and third parties whose job roles and services exist to support these operations. Manual human interventions are now required as automated forecasting tools are out of all normal operating trends, autopilot will not operate effectively in these conditions. Retail Metrics Cost Optimization Specialists can help businesses realize maximum potential, support profitable EBITDA delivery and increase shareholder value.
Supply chain and Importing - Lockdowns result in reduced manpower capabilities with social distancing across ports and airports, as a direct result movement of imports and exports has slowed dramatically, less inspectors and product testing at port laboratories can add weeks to clearance of new shipments. Increased costs of container rental, delayed shipping dates and lumpy logistic flows result in further cost being added to each product. This impacts the full supply chain which has been honed over decades to be just in time, lean and efficient to help drive down unit costs.
There are serious and repeated stop and start implications across the supply chain and manufacturing networks as lockdowns force production lines to close and shut down customer facing businesses which causes havoc with demand forecasting and supply calculations. This start and stop mentality is completely adhoc, reactionary in nature and a lack of smooth strategic planning drives lumpy real time consequences across all aspects of global supply chain channels.
Repercussions permeate from the factory floors through distribution centres, across logistical networks reaching ports, shipping fleets and stretching across international airport flight paths. Forecasting models are completely out of kilt and trends, manual human interventions are required as artificial intelligence programs have been found wanting.
Add customer panic and erratic purchases across the regions at different time periods into the mix and you are facing a perfect storm of crisis management that is sending automated algorithms into dark uncharted territories. Most systematic stock and order systems can control 20% non-planned events comfortably, but these systematic changes are unplanned, erratic and at the extremes of disruptive nature.
Both local and international markets are facing delays, spiralling cost, inefficiency and disruption across import and export channels, this is globalization on an unprecedented scale with completely unintended consequences. Leaders and businesses require support and creative innovation as they reshape the business models to ensure the business can survives and grow.
Retail Metrics Cost Optimization Specialists can help businesses realize maximum potential, support profitable EBITDA delivery and increase shareholder value. Please contact us through our website.